Originally published by L.S. Media. November 22nd 2010.
There are some live albums that stand the test of time and capture the band or artist at their very best, one such album is The Who’s Live at Leeds. Originally recorded in the bands heyday of 1970, the album is a snap shot of one of the finest rock bands to come out of Britain, punchy, insightful to the point of brilliance, the album has constantly been adorned with being one of the defining moments of Rock history.
Originally published by L.S. Media. January 10th 2011.
It feels good to get out of your usual listening once in a while and appreciate something that will grab your attention and have you humming along without you even realising it. Liverpool’s own Kate Robbins new album Soho Nights is one such album.
From the opening bar of the title song, you feel as though you have been taken back to the heady days of the 1940’s jazz clubs that gave so much pleasure when there was very little in supply. Kate’s voice is a mixture of laid back and with a subtle hint of the great Karen Carpenter unique vibrato sound that made her a star.
Originally published by L.S. Media. January 17th 2011.
Sixteen studio albums down the road and the Magnum story keeps on going. Two years ago the band produced the stunning and critically acclaimed Into the Valley of the Moonking; they follow this up with the quite frankly incredible The Visitation.
Once more Tony Clarkin’s signature song writing style is very much in evidence as he deals with subjects close to his and the bands heart. There can be very few bands where the main song writer and the vocalist are so in tune with each other’s requirements that the songs they come up with are stirring and poignant at the same time.
Originally published by L.S. Media. January 17th 2011.
The very name of British heavy metal band Motorhead was once enough to strike fear into the hearts of fans worldwide, their overpowering guitar driven anthems, Lemmy’s persona and the very image they fully lived up to always meant they were a bit of a Marmite band, you either didn’t get them or you thought they were out of this world. There was no way you could be indifferent about the band.
Originally published by L.S. Media. January 25th 2011.
What if…is the first studio album in ten years by the L.A rock giants Mr. Big and if you are going to go away for that long and then do an album, it has to be a cracking one. Thankfully Eric Martin, Pat Torpey, Billy Sheehan and Paul Gilbert deliver an album high on octane and memories of past glories withheld at the studio door.
Originally published by L.S. Media. February 16th 2011.
It has been the best part of 23 years since New York singer songwriter Robin Beck made any type of impact with her music in Britain. Although chiefly remembered for her only U.K. number one, the power ballad First Time, the quiet American has released albums which have done well in her native homeland and in other parts of Europe but not touched the consciousness of the record-buying public in this country.
Originally published by L.S. Media. February 23rd 2011.
Bob Geldof has for so long been associated with the ideals of political activism and one of the great modern philanthropists that for some people his days as a Punk/ Rock rebel and musician are long in the distant past. In certain quarters the songs that he created with the Boomtown Rats may seem like a relic to the man he no longer is, and it is has been such a long time since he recorded anything of note that those critics may have a point.
Originally published by L.S. Media. February 26th 2011.
With other bands from the 80’s pop scene making waves with talks of come backs and releasing new albums for their fans in what can be seen as a blaze of glory, there is one band that has quietly been going about its business and creating a new album that stirs the desire for the Synth Pop era that they were at the forefront of at the time.
Blancmange gained a reputation for their style of recording great, memorable songs and even covering tracks by Abba’s The Day Before You Came to great critical effect.
Originally published by L.S. Media. March 9th 2011.
R.E.M have made many notable and groundbreaking albums over the years, so many in fact that their fan base have been spoilt by the richness and depth of the recordings, with many different styles and themes running through each individually tailored album there has been a lot to like and admire of the Georgia band.
Collapse into now is an album that should have followed suit and been amongst the very best that this once mighty band have produced. However with a few exceptions, notably on Oh My Heart and Every day is Yours to Win which sees the band at their melancholic, delightful best, the album seems cliché ridden, desperate to please and tired.
Originally published by L.S. Media. March 11th 2011.
The Beachcomber is the new studio album by British Rock Band Jump and as ever the guys never let their loyal fan base down with an album crammed with songs that are bound to become crowd pleasers when they play them live.
John Dexter Jones has been one of the best and underrated songwriters of the last twenty years, his personal and sometimes dramatic stories making their way onto albums with apparent ease and yet you know just by listening to songs such as Kingston Corner Blues which deals with the idea of people declaring their life stories on the phone in public and the incredible No One Spoke.